Can vending machine



April 30, 1957 J. B. DONNELLY CAN VENDING MACHINE s sheets-sheet 1*original Filed Nov. 24, 195o IVENTOR.

l l /l l/ ll /l JOSEPH '19. DON/VELLY BY oumnodww@ Izzi 1 1.

A TTOFPNEYS April 30, 1957 J. B. DONNELLY CAN VENDNG MACHINE 5She'ets-Sheet 2 Original Filed NOV. 24, 1950 \ATTORNEY$ April 30, 1957J. B. DONNELLY CAN VENDING MACHINE Original Fil'ed Nov. 24, 1950 5Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOIL JOSEP/1 5. DOA/NELLY a af.

MT- ATTORNEYS ilniteei tates 4 Claims. (Cl. 193-27) This inventionrelates to newand useful Yimprovements in can vending machines. Thisapplication :is a division arent of my application Serial No. 197,298tiled Novemberfji,

1950 `for Can Vending Machine. v i

IMore particularly, the invention relates to a'novel'chute constructionand a novel dispensing mechanism for vendingm'achines for cans.

The Vchutes described herein are formed-by `appose'd vertical wallsyformed .of a plurality of'superposedplate sections. The opposed walls`are held a iixed distance apart byfs'leeve spacers through which passbolts engaging said plate sections. Thev sections are joined by lugsvprojecting upward from their Yupper edges overlapping the sectionabove, certain of said bolts passing thrcvnigh holes in` the lugs andthroughk holes in 'the plate sections ,inthe area overlapped by saidlugs. Thus 'the' chutes may be made inheights which'are 'multiples oftheheights'of'plate sections. The relatively small sections may bemanufactured more'easily and inexpensively ltha1i;co1r1plete walls. Thewalls may be vassembled rapidly andiconveniently and, upon tightening ofthe bolts, said `walls are rapidly locked together.

The dispensing mechanism employed Vherein is Ypeeinactuated to dispensecans as they roll downthe chute one at atirne. Apair of Aslidablepins ismounted so'that each pin ,in'its' protracted position obstructs theIpassageofcans down the chute and in its retracted position'thepindoes'notobstructpassage. The pinsare so actuated `that when one isprotracted,1the other-is retracted. `Upon depositof a coin, thelowermostpin retracts,permitting dispensing of the lcwermost can, andthe other pin projects, prevent- 'inglothercans from following therstecan. Thereafter, the-positions of the pins are reversedand'thenext'can 'moves into-position abutting the lirst pin.

Another feature of theinvention is the 'association of vtwofor-morechutes with a single coin slot. When one chute is-empt-y,the cans in thenext Achutegare dispensed until all of the chutesarefempty,^whereuponadditional coins deposited Y by `a lcustomer :arereturned; and alight may be energized to .indicate'that the chutespareempty.

@ther Aobjects oi i the present invention will'becbme, ap-

parent upon reading the following speciiieationandrererring to theaccompanying drawings in which;s imilar characters `of ,referencerepresent. corresponding'lparts in eachof therseveralviews. Y

.Inlthe drawings: t `Fig.x 1- is.a-verticalinid-sectiontoi the machine.

liig.f2is-a\ver.tical section takemsubstantiallytalongithe rFig, :3.ris-an enlarged vertical section; of the `dispensing -,rnechanisrn' andassociated parts, showing: said-.mechanism immediately after vendingofthe can.

Eig. .Stisawiring diagramothemachine.

24 willrbe returned to the customer.

Patented Apr. 3o, 1957 V`whichpreferab`ly are-kept at a low temperature1by refrigerating means incorporated in the ymachine'.Y 'It'will beunderstood that the mechanism hereinafter y described may Eb elused forvending other commodities,

A suitableinsulated cabinet .21v is provided, said-cabinet Vvhavingrefrigerating coils 22 adjacent the top thereof Whicharefconnected to asuitablecompressor 23 located outsidethe insulated area of the cabinetas is well underf stood-in refr-igeratin'g art. The presence of therefrigeratingreoils 22 within the cabinet causes the circulatingtherethrough of chilled air which, by thermo'static conftrols VV(notshown), maintains the interior of the cabinet 221 atia'vsuitabletemperature depending upon the type of comestiblestored therein.

- :The vending machine illustratedparticularly in A1Figs. l and 2,contemplates the use of twocoin depositrslo't's'24, veach v.of saidlslots being associated with a pair of can ychutes 216. lThus a customermay deposit a c'o'infinY either of the two coin slots 24 provided,whereuponac'an20 o :will be `dispensed Vfrom'one or the other of the twochutes of the'pair associated `with said slot. After the supply'of cans.in one chute of the pair of chutes is exhausted, the

@cans iin the :other ofthe pair of chutes Awill pbe dispensed.

'After-.allor the cans in both pairsofhchutes are dispensed,-a.:1ightf27 will 'be illuminated `to india'tethatthe jeans areexhaustedandrany coin thereafter inserted-'in lthes'lot The fchutes areconstructed by the suitable location `af'Jithinj-:the cabinet `ofparallel vertical walls ZS-ertending `strom adjacent the 4front of Ythecabinet to adjacent the'lrear `ofthejcabinet'andresting on the floor ofthe insulated portion thereof. Said walls are spaced apart a distancefslightly .greater than the vheight of the cans 20 to be`dispensedbyzthermachine itbeing understood thatsa'idcans `areinsertedwith their axles disposed horizontally.- Each twall-*ZS-isfmade up of aplurality of sections 29 su'it'ably joined ltogether along horizontalY"joifn'ts'fas Y hereina-fte'1' Vapipears. `zltach said section 29comprises a relatively thin,

flight-weight lplatehavingV on -eachside a trackwayl exytoithefrontlower lcorner `(reference numeral of the fseeitionwhere 1t joins theupper forwardportion`32 ,of

,thef-'trackway of the next lower section. :The trackways are formedj bynarrow raised beadsj36 and 37 `fofrineclinitegrallywith the plateandprojecting outward vfrorrreach surface thereof, onefsaid bead 36providing avertical supportfforf the cans `as they roll rearwardly'oftheV chute and `-thereuponz-beingdisposed immediately above the cans asi;they;ro l1:forwardly. The other said bead 37 xisfdisposed zlQllgfthetop of the path oflthecans as they roll rear- ,wardly :and'then providesa vertical support as vthe 'cans yroll-fprwardly The beads 36 and 37'are curved about a radius slightlygreater than the canldiameteraloiiglthe aoutsicieof ,the cu-rvestin the'` can path ais-indicated byvreferencegnumerals 3,8 andll?V andcomefto poin`t`s41 and'42,gatttheinside of the. curves in the can path, the points l41 and 12Abeing the centers of the radii of curvature of the wcurved,portions 38and 39, respectively. Beads'36 and `j 37 are spac ed yapart adistanceslightly greatery thanlthe diameter ofY the cans 20 being, dispensed.VThe portions of the beads v36 andl 37 disposed` k,along thefbottorn.V,offthe pathway provide asuppor'tuforfthe 4 etndwseain beadsofthefcanswastheyvroll down the chute section and the portions Yconicalsuitably ,to engage the disposed above the top of the pathwaysprevent the cans from raising out of position, and possibly jamming inthe machine. The two beads coopera-te to coniine the cans within thedesired undulate pathway. Since the wall sections 29 are spaced apart adistance only slightly greater than the length of the cans 20, there isno possibility of the cans being slanted sideways if they are onceproperly placed within the chutes. Sections 29 are apertured ,asindicated by reference numeral 43 to provide for'circulation of cold airin the portions thereof `which are not a part vof the chute structureproper.

The individual sections 29 are joined together by means Y of ears 46integrally formed with these Asectionsalong the top edges thereof andprojecting above the Vtop edges thereof and overlappingl andoverlyingthe next section above, said ears beinglaterally offset so asto overlap the Y section above, as'shown particularly in Fig. 6. Bolts47 hereinafterdescribed pass through projecting ears v46 and holesadjacentthe lower edge of the section overlapped thereby to hold thesuperimposed sections together. The bolts are used also to hold thewalls in proper alignment. Suitable sleeves 48 extending between`opposite walls of each section 2,9 surround said bolts 47 and are ofsuch length that theyspace the opposed sections 29 apart the -requireddistance and, since their ends are square hold said sections in properValignment. A plurality of additional bolts 49 and sleeves 48 is locatedin suitable and accessible places in walls of the chute so as to assistin securing proper alignment and spacing of said walls.

As seen particularly with reference to Fig...1, a suitable l door 56 isprovided in the top of the cabinet 21 through which cans may beinserted. The attendant inserts said cans 20 so that they lie with theiraxes horizontal and their end seam beads resting on beads A36 and 37. Aseach can is dispensed the remaining cans in the chute roll down untilall ofthe cans in the chute are exhausted.

Adjacent the bottom of each chute of a pair of chutes -is an emptyswitch 57 and 58, said switch being a microswitch or Similar switchmechanism. YThe weight of the cans in the chute resting on resilientfingers 59 maintains said switches 57 and 58 closed so long as there isa can in the chute. When all the cans have been dispensed, the resilientiinger 59 rises and the electrical contact is broken. A second switch 61is maintained at the bottom of one of said chutes, herein called thesecond chute, said switch 61 being biased closed, but maintained closedby the weight of the cans in the chute on resilient finger 62. When allof the cans have been exhausted, resilient iinger 62 opens switch 61 andthis causes empty light 27 located exteriorly of cabinet 21 to beilluminated, notifying the attendant to refill the chutes and alsoindicating to a `potential customer that all of the cans in the chutesassociated with a particular coin slot 24 have been dispensed so thatsaid customer will not deposit a coin in the slot.

The dispensing mechanism is shown particularly in Figs. 3 and 4, Saidmechanism is located adjacent the bottom of each chute. It comprisesessentially a pair of vertically slidable pins 66 and V67, each of saidpins having y an up and a down position and when in upposition extendinginto trackway 31 a distance suilicient to prevent a can from rollingpast` said pin. Said pins 66 and 67 are slidable in verticalA bushings68 extending upward through the bottomv wall of the cabinet 21.Preferablyv the upper ends of said pins 66 and 67 are pointed and roundbody of the can lowermost in ythechute.

The lower ends of said pins are 1pivotallyconnected toY the oppositearms of a T-shaped link 71, said T-'sh'aped link being disposed with itsupper portion 72 substantially horizontal, one end of said upper portion72 being connected to pin 66 by means of a slot-and-pin connection andthe other end of said upper portion 72 being connected to pin 67 by asimilar slot-and-pin connection. The T-shaped member 71 is pivotallymounted to a stationary 'portion of the cabinet by vmeans cfa pivot 73passing 4 through approximately the center of the horizontal portion 72of link 71. The lower end of T-shaped member 71 is connected by aslot-and-pin connection to the horizontally slidable solenoid arm 76.Spring 77 normally biases said T-shaped member 71 to the position shownim Fig. 4 so that the pin 66 engages the lowermost can in the chute.However, upon a customer depositing a suitable coin in slot 24, anelectrical circuit is establishedl which energizes solenoid 78 andretra-cts arm 76 which moves the T-shaped member to the position shownin Fig. 3 whereupon pin 66 is retracted allowing the lowermost can toescape and pin 67 is simultaneously projected restraining the next canin order from following the first can out of the machine. The retractionof the solenoid 78 is for only a brief period of time, sufficient forpassage of the coin through coin switch mechanism 79, whereupon spring77 restores T-shaped member 71 to the position shown in Fig, 4, therebyretracting pin 67 allowing the cans to move downward one positionfthelast can in order resting against pin 66 until a customer'insertsanother coin in the machine. An insulated trap door 81 is pro- `vided inthe cabinet adjacent the lower vend of chute, said `manually remove thecan. It will be understood that a suitable can opener `(not shown) maybe installed in the cabinet and a receptacle (not shown) provided forempty cans.

The lelectrical circuits for the vending portion ofthe mechanism areshown in Fig. 5. As illustrated in Fig. 5, both empty switches 57 and 58are closed because both chutes have at least one can therein. Similarly,empty light switch 61 is open because of the presence of a can in thesecond chute. Relay 86 is so set thatupon deposit of a coin and closingof coin switch 79, vending solenoid 78 will be energized tordispense asingle can until the tirst chute is empty, whereupon empty switchk 57will be opened, and relay 86 will be thrown to the opposite position.Thereafter solenoid 87 will be energized upon the deposit of a coinuntil all of the cans in the second chute are exhausted, whereupon emptyswitch 58 will be opened some detail by way of illustration and example,it is understood'that certain changes and modifications may be madewithin the spirit of the invention and Scope of the appended claims.

yI claim: f

"1. Achute for aV vending machine comprising a pair of substantiallyparallel, vertical walls spaced Vapart a distance slightly greater thanthe height of the articles being dispensed, each of said walls havingregistering `undulating trackways formed of beads protruding inwardlyfrom the opposed wall surfaces, and arranged to engage the ends of thearticles being dispensed, said tracltways being inclined downwardly andalternating from front to rear, at least one of said walls being formedin a plurality of substantially rectangular sections abuttingalonghorizontal joints, one said section being provided withan ear arrangedto overlap a portion of the adjacent section and fastening means passingthrough said ear and theunderlying portion .of the adjacent section andlocking sad sections together, said ear comprising a short, angularlyshaped member projecting outwardly horizontally and then verticallybeyond the horizontal margin of said section, said ear being locatedremote from said trackway.

2. A chute as defined in claim 1 in which said trackway is formedcommencing in the upper forward corner of said section, extendingdownwardly and rearwardly at a slight declination, having a sharp bendat about the middle of the back thereof and extending forwardly andrearwardly at a slight declination to the lower forward corner thereof.

3. A chute as defined in claim 2 in which the beads on said section areshaped with one bead curved at the upper front corner, then extendingstraight and inclined downwardly, then at an acute angle at the back,then extending straight and inclined downwardly and then curved at thelower front corner and the other bead extends straight and inclineddownwardly from adjacent the forward upper corner, curved at the middleof the rear and then straight and inclined downwardly to the lowerforward corner and in which the radius of curvature of the curvedportions is slightly greater than the diameter of the articles beingdispensed in the zone of contact of said article with said beads.

4. A chute as deined in claim l in which said fastening means comprisesa bolt and in which is further provided a plurality of sleevesinterposed between parallel walls, said sleeves spacing opposed wallsapart the required distance, one of said sleeves and said bolt beingpositioned remote from said trackway.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,383,318 McCormick July 5, 1921 1,462,126 Ross July 17, 1923 2,159,905Moninger May 23, 1939

